Bishopric of Strasbourg
The Bishopric of Strasbourg was a Roman Catholic diocese based in Strasbourg in eastern Alsace, France. The diocese existed from the early 4th Century until 1988 when it was raised to an Archdiocese. The Bishopric of Strasbourg Although legend maintains that the diocese at Strasbourg was established during the third or fourth centuries, the first bishop confirmed to history is Ansoald who was one of the signatories to the Council of Paris in 614. St Arbogast and Florentius are possibly legendary figures which are said to have preceded Ansoald. The next known bishop of importance is Heddo (739 - 765) of the Ettichonid dynasty who organised the diocese in the style of St Boniface. The established borders of the diocese remained laregly unchanged for the entirety of the Middle Ages. The Emperor Charlemagne granted Heddo unlimited authority in the Breusch valley, and in 775 freed the bishop from the custom duties. This began the temporal authority of the prince-bishops. Later Carolingian kings and emperors confirmed Charlemagne's grants. The diocese had entered into decay during the early 10th Century but standards were restored by Bishops Udo IV (950 - 965) and Ethrambald (965 - 991). In 974 the Emperor Otto II granted the right of the bishop to mint money in any town he chose to, and in 982 granted the bishops complete authority over the town of Strasbourg and its environs. Werner I of Habsburg received from the Emperors Henry II and Conrad large territorial grants including the old Abbey of St Stephen and its extensive rights. Werner began the construction of a new cathedral in 1015, to replace the one destroyed by Duke Herman II of Swabia in 1002, which was dedicated in 1031. During the Investiture Controversy the bishops generally sided with the Emperors. Theobald (1079 - 1082) took part in the election of the Antipope Clement III. Otto of Hohenstaufen (1085 - 1100) accompanied Geoffrey of Bouillon on Crusade. Gebhard I of Urach (1131 - 1141) and Burkhard I (1141 - 1162) were zealous church reformers. In 1230 Bishop Berthold I of Teck (1222 - 1244) settled members of the new orders of the Franciscans and the Donimicans. During this era the town of Strasbourg manouvred to attain independence from the bishops. The Emperor Frederick II confirmed the right of the bishop to appoint the town council. Bishop Walter of Geroldseck (1260 - 1263) attempted to force the city to submit to his complete rule but was defeated in 1262. His successor Henry IV of Geroldseck (1263 - 1273) granted the town independence shortly after taking office. In 1359 Bishop John II of Lichtenberg (1353 - 1365) acquired the Landgraviate of Lower Alsace from the Counts of Öttingen. During his reign a register was taken of the temporal properties of the archdiocese, and Strasbourg was second in size in the entire empire of all the prince-bishops (second to the Archbishopric of Bremen). With skilled policy he broke the power of the local governors which resented Imperial rule. After John's reign, the bishopric entered into decline through domestic squabbles and foreign wars. The Great Schism further diminished the bishopric, and conditions reached their nadir under William II of Diest (1394 - 1439). William II bankrupted and mortgaged the properties of the bishopric to fund his many personal and episcopal wars. With the help of the cathedral chapter, his debts were finally paid off by Bishops Rupert of Palatinate-Simmern (1440 - 1478), Albert of Palatinate-Mosbach (1478 - 1506) and William III of Hohnstein (1507 - 1541). Quickly after 1520 the Reformation spread rapidly through Strasbourg following the close friendship held between several influential people in the city and Martin Luther. Mass was abolished by the town council in 1529 and in 1531 the city joined the Schmalkaldic League which lead the bishop to transfer his see to Zabern. Despite the efforts of William of Hohnstein and Erasmus of Limburg (1541 - 1568), all the secular lordships of the diocese in Lower Alsace, bar the Landgraviate, and a section of the cathedral chapter converted to Lutheranism. John IV of Manderscheid (1568 - 1592) summoned the Jesuits to Molsheim and encouraged the Counter-Reformation. After his death a double election ensued when the Protestant members of the chapter elected John George of Brandenburg and the Catholic members elected Charles of Lorraine. During the so-called "Bishops' War of Strasbourg" (1592 - 1604), great damage was caused to the diocese and Charles of Lorraine eventually victored. Catholicism continued to survive through the elections of the Habsburg Leopold of Austria (1607 - 1626) and Leopold William of Austria (1626 - 1662). During the Thirty Years' War (1618 - 1648), the diocese was so ravaged by Ernest of Mansfeld, the Swedes and later the French that the population decreased by over 75%. In 1680 during the reign of the pro-French Francis Egon of Fürstenberg (1662 - 1682), the left-bank territories of the diocese and prince-bishopric were annexed by France under the pretense of "reunion". The city of Strasbourg was annexed the following year. The bishops still held administrative rulership over the annexed territories. From 1704 the bishops were all members of the French noble family of the de Rohan. The last of these, Louis René de Rohan-Guemené (1779 - 1801), was involved in the notorious Affair of the Diamond Necklace. In 1790 the French revolutionary council took control of the French territories of the bishopric and Louis René moved to the remaining right bank German territories. The French in his place appointed a rival bishop, and Brendel persecuted all Catholic priests which refused to swear the oath. Louis René resigned from the bishopric in 1801 at the request of the Pope and new borders for the diocese were established by the Convention. Peter Saurine (1802 - 1813), the former revolutionary bishop was appointed over the entire diocese. In 1803 Baden annexed the remaining secular territories of the diocese. In 1822 Strasbourg was made suffragan to the Archbishopric of Besançon. After the German Empire conquered Alsace-Lorraine in 1871, the borders of the diocese were redrawn and the bishopric was made exempt. Strasbourg was returned to France in 1918 by the Treaty of Versailles. In 1988 Strasbourg was raised to an Archbishopric. See also *Archbishopric of Strasbourg *List of Archbishops of Strasbourg *List of Bishops of Strasbourg Strasbourg Category:Diocese of Strasbourg